Wet chicks!!

Had I known today would have taken this kind of an interesting turn, I'd have waited on posting my blog post this morning and posted this instead!

As you may know, we have been getting a LOT of rain lately (and we are most thankful for it).  Mrs. Potts has taken excellent care of her chicks during inches upon inches of heavy rain every time... up until today.  I happened to be in the back bedroom when I heard a horrible squawking - I immediately jumped up to investigate.

Imagine my horror when I looked out to see a soaking Mrs. Potts with her completely sopped chicks frantically running about her!  I don't know what happened - if she got scared of something or what - but they all looked like they had just been nearly drowned.  

Rain pouring madly, I grabbed my flip flops and dashed outside.  I herded them into the chicken coop and grabbed a VERY angry Mrs. Potts, putting her into her broody house and locking the door.  Then I proceeded to nab the chicks that were freaking out without their mother, slipping in the mud, and probably half frozen to death.  I got all but one that had run into the main chicken house... so I opened the access door and started trying to grab her... frightening Scarlet who was in the process of trying to lay an egg.  Scarlet was so mad!  She flopped and squawked... but finally I was able to get past her nagging and grab the last chick!  All chicks tucked into my shirt, I started running for the warm, dry garage.  I could feel the chicks trembling because they were so cold!

P.S. - This is why it pays to ALWAYS have a readily-available isolation area indoors to treat your chickens in case this kind of thing happens.  I was so glad I had a box all ready to go!  

Well almost all ready.  I didn't have the brooder light plugged in, obviously, because I wasn't using it.  I pulled the extension cord over and in the midst of the craziness, managed to plug the extension cord into itself, wondering why on earth the brooder light wasn't coming on.  Gee, aren't I brilliant?!  I finally caught on and got all the plugs in the right places and wa-la, warm light!  I put the chicks in along with some fresh pine shavings.  

Some of the chicks starting to dry off.

Slowly but surely the chicks began to dry off.  Except not me, I didn't.  I was wet, realllllly wet.  But I could deal with that later!  At the moment I wasn't sure how long it would take the chicks to dry, so I took an unused chicken waterer and proceeded to fill it.  Of course, I had to run outside again in the pouring rain and ear-splitting thunder, praying I didn't get struck by lightening.  I turned the hose on and brought it to the garage door only to find that somewhere out in the yard there was a kink because I wasn't getting water.  Out in the rain again, ducking when it would lightening.  Oy, what an afternoon.  

Bill is like "what is going on in there??"

Finally, after a lot more rainfall and waiting, the chicks were dry.  The rain finally stopped, and I packed up the chicks and returned them to Mrs. Potts.  (She was SO angry at me....)  I locked up the broody house to be sure they won't be coming out until things dry up a bit.

Ready to go back to Mrs. Potts.  (Yes I used a paper sack to transport them!)

WHAT a day.  I think now I need a nap!